•0^ ^ y^ ^ ^ •\ - ' -^ a\ . o ^ -^^ ^. v^ ^ ^ ^' -^^ ^ y ^'^*',To^"<5^ -v ,o- ,j. .\- ^> -. .0' >J.^^^ ^ ""^^^^^ X 1 « •; d 0^^' j': ?S^. W'lf^ THE IflETTLES SUNG a u ftt FLORAL FANCIES JWorals front Jplototts. EMBELLISHED WITH SEVENTY ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR. » LONDON: TILT AND BOGUE, FLEET STREET. MDCCgXLIII. TTM'ii Westeri} Ont. p-niy, library APR 1 7 1940 WKJGHT AND CO.. PJUNTtRS ihrKt STKtKT. LONDON. PREFACE The following Fables were written with a view to more purposes than one. They are intended to impart acquaint- ance with the economy and habits of some of the most beautiful or singular productions of the vegetable kingdom, and also to illustrate moral truths by analogies drawn from the same source. Through the medium of fiction, founded on fact, it has been endeavoured to in- vite attention to many wonders of creation, which are daily passed by IV PREFACE. without notice, trodden under foot without heed, or, at best, admired without scrutiny; to point out the curious adaptation of means to cor- responding ends, observable in the most minute of Nature's works ; and, finally, to teach therein the goodness and wisdom of Nature's God. In the Notes to each Fable no new information is pretended to be con- veyed, their matter having been chiefly derived from acknowledged authorities, selected to suit the purpose of illustra- tion, and also to invite pursuit of Botany, as a study adapted to refine and elevate, as well as to inform the mind. For such readers as possess no botanical knowledge, it may be advis- ; PREFACE. V able to peruse these Notes before the Fable to which they belong, in order to render the allusions of the latter more apparent. It may, possibly, be objected that the characteristics of plants are too little known and too slightly marked to afford suitable materials for Fable but, be it remembered, that the object of the following fictions is not alone to convey moral precept, but also to im- press a knowledge of the natural facts on which they hang. Admitting the mine of vegetable history to be less rich in moral ore than that of the animal creation, the former yields a vein%ot yet exhausted ; and novelty has sometimes been accepted as a VI PREFACE. substitute for metal of more intrinsic worth. To pronounce judgment on the forms into which this metal has been wrought, and to determine whether they possess anything useful in pur- pose, or tasteful in decoration, is the province of the reader, to whose kind indulgence they are, with diffidence, submitted. CONTENTS. I.—The Nettle's Sting and the Sting of In- gratitude 1 II.—The Flower of an Hour and the Flower without Fruit .... 8 III.—The Eccentric Arum . .14 IV.—The Linnaa and the Pine Tree . 26 V,—The Flower of Night and the Flower of Day 35 VI. —The Sensitive Plant and her two Phy- sicians . 42 VII.—The Trumpet Flower and the Humming Bud . .53 VIII. —The Contest between the Houses of Rose and Tulip . 60 IX.—The Hollow Friend . .73 X.—The Chameleon Flower and the Slave 84 XI.-^The Highest of Virtues; or, the Judg- ment of the Sage .... 93 XII.—The Insect Bee and the Flower Bee . 103 XIII.—The Jealous Wild Flowers . .107 Vlll CONTENTS. PAGE XIV.—The Traveller's Joy . .118 XV.—The Misanthropic Thistle . .128 XVI.—The Sacred Lotus and the Pitcher Plant 136 XVII.—The Wicked Cudweeds and the Hen and Chickens . ... 145 XVIII.—The Cockscomb and his Copyist , 152 XIX.—The Emblem of Immortality . 158 XX.—Venus's Fly Trap . .165 XXI.—The Seditious Reeds and the Patriot Sandal 172 XXII.—The Pretty Mountaineer . .187 XXIII.—The Shepherd's Purse and the Fairy . 194 XXIV.—The Croaking Critic . .199 XXV.—The Aspiring Convolvulus . .205 XXVI.—Love lies Bleeding; or, Cupid in the Flower Garden . .213 XXVII.—The Daisy, the Hemlock, and the Lady-Bird 220 XXVIII.—The Epergne .... 227 XXIX.—The Fairy Freebooters . .232 XXX.—The Transplanted Primrose . 241 XXXI.—The Vegetable Vampire . .247 XXXIL—The Evening Primrose, the Butterfly, and the Owl . ^ . 251 XXX III. —The Scorpion Grass, or Forget-me-not 258 XXXIV. —Vulgar Cousins; or, Almack's in the Flower Garden .... 262 FLORAL FICTIONS. I. THE NETTLE S STING, AND THE STING OF INGRATITUDE. Two superb butterflies, the one named Paphia, the other, Atalanta, tired of pursuing each other in graceful evolutions through the fields of air, alighted, by mere inadvertence, on the forbidding head of a way-side Nettle. The vain Paphia, starting as if her velvet bodice had been pierced, instantaneously rose again to seek a more agreeable resting-place; but her sister, Atalanta, either feeling more fatigued, or entertaining less fear of the vege- 'Z THE NETTLE S STING. table viper, retained her station, and even folded up her wings as if disposed to prolong her sojourn. The rough Nettle, whose morose nature seemed softened by the fearless confi- dence of the fair Atalanta, smoothed down his poisoned prickles, like a tiger in good humour sheathing his talons, and thus af- \ forded a seat, soft as a downy cushion, to his i unwonted visitor. Nor did his courtesy end \ here—" My pretty one," said he, " I thank you for coming hither to enliven my life of i gloom ; and yet more, for the generous absence . of mistrust you have displayed towards a poor, I calumniated, despised old Nettle. But how i different the behaviour of your haughty and suspicious sister, who shrank from my contact i; as though my very touch were poison!" \ " sir," " Good replied the butterfly, I hope \ you'll excuse her, for she's somewhat timid ; I and, to own the truth, both she and* myself I had heard so much against you, that I really |i wonder at my own courage in having stayed THE NETTLE S STING. 3 to discover, by experience, that you are not the wicked, dangerous creature that fame reports you." " Ah, my child," returned the old Nettle, "few have ever borne a worse name all than myself, and our persecuted race ; and none, perhaps, have met with more in- gratitude." "Indeed, sir," said the gentle Atalanta, with a sympathetic nod, " and may I ask, by whom, and how you have been thus maltreated?" "Why, first, my pretty one, we are sadly wronged by man ; he, while we are yet in early youth, is glad of our tender shoots to make him pottage ; but, when age overtakes us, he reviles, uproots, or mows us down, with hatred most inveterate. What can be more natural than that we should sting him in return ; but, even when provoked to inflict a wound, we are always ready to afford a balm, wherewith its smart may be allayed. Nay, more—if our enemy show but the courage to approach and handle us with confidence, even towards him we prove gentle —; ^ THE NETTLE S STING. and unoffending, as you at this moment find me." ** Indeed, Mr. Nettle," returned the volatile butterfly, beginning to grow weary of her host's prosing— *' indeed you seem to have been sadly used; and now I'll go, if you please, and tell my sister, and aU our friends, what a good sort of body you are." " Stay a moment, fair one," exclaimed the Nettle, as Atalanta spread her wings for flight, " you have not yet heard half my story I have told, indeed, of man's unkindness, but I have yet to speak of far worse ingratitude the ingratitude of your own race continually shown towards us." " Really, sir," said the butterfly, tossing her plumes, " I didn't sup- pose " '• No, I dare say you were not aware that the nurses and supporters of your family have all been supplied by mine." The butterfly stared. " 'Tis very true," resumed the Nettle, " and yet more, 'tis a fact, though you seem to have forgotten it, that it was from me—yes, from my very self, that both 5 — THE NETTLES STING. 5 you and your giddy sister received support and nourishment in your days of helpless infancy. Do but observe all my lov^er leaves reduced to skeletons, and know that it w^as by your ow^n teeth, and those of your sister Paphia, they were brought to this condition." '* No, no, Mr. Nettle," exclaimed the but- terfly, laughing most contemptuously, " you'll never make me believe a tale like that ; never tell me that / I for whose delicate appetite the nectar of the sweetest flowers is scarcely fitting food—that / should ever have con- descended to touch one morsel of your coarse, disgusting foliage—a good joke, truly ! but it won't do for me. So good morning to you, Master Nettle, and the next time I honour you with a visit, you'll tell me something a little more likely. Oh ! oh ! oh ! the very thought I " and the wings of the pretty Ata- lanta shook with laughter, as she expanded them for flight ; but, ere she had time to rise, she felt, for the first time, a painful sting. THE NETTLE S STING. The Nettle could inflict no sharper wound, yet it was far less deadly than that with which the ungrateful insect had just pierced the friend and benefactor of her infancy. NOTES. The caterpillars of three of our most beau- tiful butterflies, viz., the Atalanta, the Paphia, and the Urtica, together with some other insects, are nourished by the leaves of the common Nettle. The stinging properties of this plant have been minutely investigated by Curtis (see the " Flora Londinensis"), by whose examination it appears that the Nettle is covered with small projecting prickles, which, when slightly touched, inflict a venomous wound.